Iron County register., 1887-02-10

CHAPTER xXVL-Coyr1SuED.
He dressed slightly better than for
merly, and the glass was little oft
ener at his lips; but then steam must
be kept up, he said to himself, and all
his enemies must be placated in this
supreme season. and all debts of malice
due HIM, together with all bitter dates.
expunged from the calendar of his
years.
He met John Earling the next day
after the young mans return, and a
vail of darkness fell over his face, but
it was quickly swept aside by dash
of rather sheepish sunshine, and he
grasped the sober young fellows hand
hilariously and went putting onward.
He had thickened; the little stairway
of chins that hid its foot behind his
loose neck-cloth had added a step or
two, and his tread was heavy. Still
he had not nearly done with life, he
thought; had been a driver of things
from youth up; had conquered riches,
no matter how, and now he would
conquer honor, and as for that, too, no
matter how.
Through these days John Earrings
life ran on like something parched,
like something parted from the sweet
enlivening touch of rain and dew.
His little room up under the roof of
Bowers Block, and the office of Bower
q Earling, became again his almost
exclusive haunts: the scenes of his toll,
his study, his vigils, his sutferings, his
dreams.
By times he went out to the cottage
beyond the river where the sun was
burning at the worlds edge and sat
awhile on Captain Heaters porch.
That fioury person seemed never less
liable to start up and run than during
these visits. No hour to him seemed
quite so full of sociabilitv and good
cheer as when, with the twins gambOl
ing in the grass at the end of the
house, and Ether sewing inside the
open window. he and John Earling sat
through long siIences and watched the
sun go down.
AbsalOm. however, was not always
so content to sit upon his porch; for
should Julius Popp's cleaning glasses.
or the expressive visage of YesIit, be
deserted ascending the hill. nothing
less coercive than instant death would
probably have restrained him from
uptOeing with terror out the back way
and down the back path to the mill,
followed by Ether laughter. To have
remained through the lingual flood
that descended upon the cottage with
such occasions, to him. would have
been not unlike an hour of dark and
fragmentarv delirium. Nevertheless,
ii often descended, and having exhaust
ell itself. left Julius, since Mrs. Popp
had supplanted him with the little con-
servatory upon her own, languidly
stranded upon Absalom's porch, with
his heels high on the rail, and his blink
ing eyes watching the smoke of his ci-
gar. and the figments of his mind dis
solve together in the air. One among
the divers images that thronged the
weeds blue vapor especially invited
his eyes to follow. 1t was a vision of
Joel in Congress, with his swollen son
holding through Yeslit the position of
son to himself. ah! what a brilliant
lifting up. On such occasions he could
not fOrbear cracking his heels together
on the rail, and fetching a long de-
licious ''Hahr' as if he had Just
drawn down most glorious gulp
of liquor. And the thing seemed
not improbable. Joers nets
were drawing inward. his wires focus
ing upon himself and. set to focus HIM
in the worlds eye, We're growing taut.
while Harry. circling in the glow that
surrounded the phosphorescent Yeslit,
seemed ever drawing nearer and near
er the honied flame. The first fact
Mrs. Whitney was ignorant Of; for Joel
discreetly cloaked his ambition from
every one. save within the month he
had slowly uncovered tito a select and
obedient few, who, from under the
secret shelter of his wings, were to
carry it to the many 1T the right mo-
r. ht,+C Of bn lott at Ir- NJ
ney was fully cognizant, and sallowed
and yellowed. and greened. and fumed.
and wrought herself all to no purpose
into the iaundice over it. ''Earry dld
nothing = which was nothing new
she averred to Joel, ''but dangle, and
dangle, and dangle, after that pre-
suming. planning, chattering Popp
girl. 1t was a fishing after position on
her part, too abominabie for patience:
it was enough to set one wild.' And
Joel had gruff1y intima;ed in return
that :. the chattering Popp girl
would probably 90 wild enough herself
in time if she married himr' And
Mrs. Whitney had reioined that lit
was hateful and miserable in him to
talk sor' And Joel had further re-
turned that the girl was mighty
sight the best of the two. and carried
more Sdi3U 10 Ine square 1ncn Inan
their stall-fed sucking did to the cubic
yard" and other like observations.
that had the effect of putting Mrs
Whitney to bed with the Mysteries.
Very dark were the sacks under Joefs
eyes on such occasions; not that the
girl was not meet for his son, for he
honestly thought her too good, but
that his son did nothing but dress,
play billiards and lounge; in short was
an idler, to Joel the most incompre-
hensible anddespicable thing under the
sun. He knew why it was, or thought
he knew; the boy had had n feather
bed life; had never felt necessity push
inc him into action; had been softly
cushioned and padded on all sides from
work: it was his mothers fault Alasi
after ali. this was what riches had done
for him! 1t had made his only son
something else than Man!
Still, Joel was a good deal numbed
to life's little stings in these days by
the approaching birth of his long-nurt-
ured project That its delivery should
be successful was naturally to him
supreme care; had it been accompanied
by a less prurient desire perhaps he
would have exhibited more concern for
his som s choice; as it was. he had little
beyond an occasional growl of impa-
tience for the son. and a growl of pity
for the girl. In the main. however, he
was walking smile, an enormous sun
beam, living charity, and indeed
very difficult to dislike. For long